Today's Readings and Stuff -- Sunday, 30 June 2019

A happy and blessed Sunday is hoped for all.
Today is the last day in the month of June.  My favorite month of the year, May, flew by.  My second favorite, June, has flown by as fast and the end is in a few hours.
But in like fashion it feels like my whole life has flown past, and there is little good to show for it.  If anything will discourage a person, that will do it.
And that may be at least part of the cloud of gloom that has laid me low for the last week, and nearly so for the last year or more.  An awareness that there seems to be no point of all of this.
But the root cause of that may well be my own failure to, as the time management people taught, to "keep the main thing the main thing".Too often, I have permitted momentary matters to take, not only precedence, but full and complete attention.  I've too often lately broken my resolution to begin the day (and end it also) with the day's Bible readings, with prayer, and commentary readings and consideration, and to focus during that day on obedience to, and honor of, the Lord.  Too often, that hasn't been happening.  I don't have the work interests and focus issues that once kept me interested, so there's not much.  In other words, the free time hasn't been well used.  That's my fault, no one else's.

What makes it even worse is what I see in these readings in the Kings and the Chronicles.  We see what happens, always and without fail, when people and nations lose interest in walking with the Lord and with diligently carrying out the assignments He has given them.  It didn't start with them, and it didn't end there either.  I can confess to that, and I'm probably not alone.  The natural path of human beings and the societies we create, the ones created with purely human "wisdom", inexorably trend downward.  Always.  Sadly, in all too many organizations and societies that began with high Christian emphases are all too prone to this as well.  There is a principle in physics and engineering that we call "entropy", the tendency towards disorder and things falling apart.  We see it around us all too often.  We see it outside ourselves, but too often in goes on inside ourselves.  Our walk with the Lord is not a "one-time" thing in every respect.  I won't get into the "once saved always saved" issues, but I do know that the temptation to "coast" is ever with us, and none of us are free from it.  We should be as desperate for the Lord every moment of every day as we were the first moment we fell on our face before Him.  That's not happening always, and there are results.


On another note, Wife may be in the midst of a kidney - bladder infection.  LOTS of pain.  She's intending to call doctor office in the morning.  Might get "interesting", I have an 09:00 appointment to replace a badly cracked windshield on our aging chariot.  We shall see what the morning brings.

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1st Chronicles 19

1Now it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead.

2And David said, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him.

3But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come unto thee for to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?

4Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the midst hard by their buttocks, and sent them away.

5Then there went certain, and told David how the men were served. And he sent to meet them: for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

6And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syria–maacah, and out of Zobah.

7So they hired thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people; who came and pitched before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle.

8And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men.

9And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array before the gate of the city: and the kings that were come were by themselves in the field.

10Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose out of all the choice of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians.

11And the rest of the people he delivered unto the hand of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon.

12And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will help thee.

13Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our people, and for the cities of our God: and let the Lord do that which is good in his sight.

14So Joab and the people that were with him drew nigh before the Syrians unto the battle; and they fled before him.

15And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

16And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river: and Shophach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them.

17And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over Jordan, and came upon them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him.

18But the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host.

19And when the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they made peace with David, and became his servants: neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.

1st Chronicles 20

1And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.

2And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David's head: and he brought also exceeding much spoil out of the city.

3And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

4And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued.

5And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam.

6And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot: and he also was the son of the giant.

7But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David's brother slew him.

8These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.